June Sees Increase in Single-Family Starts

The National Association of Homebuilders found that single-family starts increased in June.

Single-family starts increased 3.5% to a 847,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace in June. However, total housing starts were down approximately 1% (1.253 million annual rate) due to a decline in apartment construction. Multifamily starts declined 9.2% to a still strong 406,000 annualized rate after an elevated reading in May.

On a year-to-date basis, single-family starts are 4.9% lower than the first six months of 2018. NAHB’s forecast, and the forward-looking HMI suggest that future data will show stabilization followed by slight gains due to recent declines in mortgage interest rates. However, single-family permits continued to be soft, with just a slight increase to a 813,000 annualized rate. Single-family permits are down 6.1% on a year-to-date basis. However, the number of single-family units authorized but not under construction declined in June to 85,000 units, down from 90,000 a year ago and a potential signal of additional permit growth ahead. Single-family units authorized but not under construction reached a recent high of 103,000 in December.

On a regional and year-to-date basis, single-family starts are down 13.6% in the Northeast, 13.4% in the West, 8.3% in the weather-challenged Midwest (but improving) and up 1% in the South – the only region with net gains.

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